In a speech at the annual meeting of the “Group of Eight,” or G8, da Silva pushed the arms-sales tax as a scheme whereby the world’s wealthiest nations could fund efforts to eliminate world hunger.

The “Group of Eight” includes the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia.

Calling the Brazilian leader’s proposal “forceful and convincing,” Chirac was reluctant to back a levy on weapons manufacturers in France and elsewhere, but suggested a global tax on firearms purchases made by individuals, said the report.